Dr. Litton on a Study of Neoadjuvant Talazoparib for Patients With BRCA-Mutated TNBC

Jennifer Litton, MD

Published: Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018

Jennifer Litton, MD, associate professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses a neoadjuvant study of talazoparib (Talzenna) for patients with BRCA1/2 mutated triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) during the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The phase II single-arm study tested the PARP inhibitor talazoparib as neoadjuvant therapy for patients with early-stage TNBC who harbor germline BRCA1/2 mutations. The trial enrolled 20 patients, and therapy was given for 6 months. Data presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting indicated a pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of 53%. The RCB0 and RCB1 rate was 63%. Based on those preliminary findings, the trial is now being tested at multiple centers in the United States to confirm its efficacy in a larger patient population, says Litton.

This is the first study in which a single-agent has demonstrated a pCR response in patients with BRCA mutations, including those with TNBC.

Jennifer Litton, MD, associate professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses a neoadjuvant study of talazoparib (Talzenna) for patients with BRCA1/2 mutated triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) during the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The phase II single-arm study tested the PARP inhibitor talazoparib as neoadjuvant therapy for patients with early-stage TNBC who harbor germline BRCA1/2 mutations. The trial enrolled 20 patients, and therapy was given for 6 months. Data presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting indicated a pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of 53%. The RCB0 and RCB1 rate was 63%. Based on those preliminary findings, the trial is now being tested at multiple centers in the United States to confirm its efficacy in a larger patient population, says Litton.

This is the first study in which a single-agent has demonstrated a pCR response in patients with BRCA mutations, including those with TNBC.